Restoration of two Roman fountains funded by Dutch sponsors.
A group of Dutch patrons is funding the restoration of two Rome fountains as a symbolic gesture following the damage done to the 17th-century Barcaccia fountain by rioting Dutch football hooligans in February 2015.
The group is sponsoring the restoration of Bernini's seashell-shaped Fontana delle Api (fountain of the bees), completed in 1644 and located at the Via Veneto end of Piazza Barberini; and an early 20th-century fountain – damaged during a storm in 2015 – on Viale Tiziano in the city's Flaminio district.
Under the direction of the city's cultural heritage authorites, both restoration projects are due to begin in the coming days, at a estimated total cost of over €100,000.
The works are being financed by Meesters In, a society which specialises in restoring architectural heritage and is noted for its large-scale projects such the renovation of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.